Martinez's Everton facing 'challenge of the season'

Aye, there's the rub. Everyone knows what we're going to do now. We need more alternatives, we need to move the ball into forward areas, ahead of Lukaku, at pace and we need to be a threat from set pieces.

How many shots did we have again? How many times did we get even close to creating a decent chance?

Plus IÂ’ve not seen this respect from other teams at Goodison he mentions; quite the opposite.

What is he talking about! The performances this year have been as bad if not worse than the results. These media soundbites are really rankling me at the moment...it's all well being uber positive when life is rosy but these darker times could use a dose of reality sprinkled onto his sugar filled philosophy.

Lose today, which seems highly likely, and it's time for BK to start drawing up a list of possible replacements in case things go from bad to untenable. Saw Mclaren linked today...could do worse? Would certainly pick him above Pulis. Just about. Otherwise maybe Eddie Howe? Laudrup? Stubbs? Not many inspiring names but if Martinez has lost the players then the die will be cast....

His only real failure was with England and let's face it, no manager would have success with that load of shite...

Well isn't that what teams are supposed to do? Talk about stating the bleeding obvious. It's up to him to find a way to overcome this. They call it management.

*ends classical mode...sort it f'kin sharpish Roberto: and Bill, if he can't you better had, before the Young Boys bury us in cuckoo clocks and chocolate.

Knee-jerk? no, a realisation that we CAN do this, the whole break the glass ceiling thing...if it's done properly

I was just pointing out that McClaren has a pretty decent record.

My opinion has been posted on other threads in that I think we should reach the safety of 40 points and then review the situation.

One things for sure, we cannot go through another season like this and I fear he will only get worse in the next campaign.

RM is increasingly coming across as delusional and he needs to take a large inhalation of coffee. It will fall to the supporters to make The Dear Leader's decision easier or harder. The next few results will probably mean RM gets til the end of the season or see the fans calling for change.

Martinez is deluded if he thinks our performances are not far off what we need. We have played really well in the League in the first 45 against Arsenal and that's about it!

No more Naismith, Barkley and Eto'o in the same team please and let's try and mix it up a little.

Results haven't been good enough but with a couple of refereeing decisions and some clinical finishing we could easily be further up the table.

Sacking a manager who took his side through Europa group with a game too spare having secured European qualification would also show a distinctly short memory.

But the fact remains RM needs to conjure some results from somwhere and that should mean stronger defending and more pace in attack. Penalty calls and own goals only go so far. Passing, finishing and marking all have to improve.

We will not be relegated but end up mid table. Yes not a great season but hopefully our manager will learn from this for next season.

I know you cant pretend those games didn't happen, but 2 of them were against Chelsea and Southampton, and the other against Palace which was a poor result.
In the other matches the defence has pretty much done its job!

Even though we are struggling to find a way forward the goal tally is respectable.

After what turned out to be a tortuous journey back from the North East, I was convinced I would log on here and find the excuse factory had closed for good, but I now realise it will never close.

We could end up in League One and you'd still be claiming the picture was distorted.

Ever considered the possibility that you, along with other members of the excuse factory (Andrews, Glassar etc) are the people who are distorting it?

Smell the coffee, lads, we are in free fall, Martinez got us into this shit with his brainless approach to this season and he needs to get us out – pronto.

Frankly no-one is doing their job effectively, manager and players alike.

Graeme Souness (God help me) called it right yesterday after the game. We are being pressed into making costly mistakes by constantly playing it out from the back. We need a Plan B and C. But at the moment we donÂ’t even seem to have a Plan A. See Luke GarbuttÂ’s final comment on preparations for yesterday; it beggars belief...

Moyes was only interested in results and on our budget did a hell of a job, but we were always honourable losers each season which is better admittedly than the position were in this season. Its' going wrong this season for many reasons, not just the manager's decisions, which are not coming off I concede.

Putting the poor form at one side, the refs have screwed us in the last two games, they're effing useless most of them, we could/should have 6 pts more than is the case now.

It's the refs thinking "It's only Everton" though, you can see that even the media regard us as surplus to requirements!